Yesterday, he was blasted by a MP in Parliament. Today, although badly 'bruised', he refused to say much except that he would leave it to his bosses to determine his position and future.

This is the case with Sarawak Police Commissioner Talib Jamal who is thrust into the national limelight for the wrong reasons.

Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing ( right ), the vocal Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) treasurer-general and youth chief, lashed out at Talib and his officers in Parliament yesterday for failing to maintain law and order in the state, particularly in Sibu.

He alleged that secret societies and gangsters were having a field day by becoming increasingly powerful by the day such as in determining the prices of essentials like eggs and also setting the prices of rubber and forcing producers to sell through them.

Sibu has long been known as a gangster-infested town and it is not surprising that the Bintulu MP has chosen to speak up on the matter in Parliament as the situation seems to be getting out of hand in recent months.

Tiong has demanded that Talib be transferred out of Sarawak, alleging that the police commissioner had not taken any action against Sibu police officers whom he claimed of harbouring gangsterism.

"I ask the Internal Security Ministry and the Inspector-General of Police (Tan Sri Musa Hassan) to take serious view of this and transfer the commissioner immediately," he said in a debate on the royal address in Parliament.

'Let Sibu people rebut'

The Bintulu MP also called on the IGP to get to the crux of the matter, saying that elected reps were required to monitor the services and effectiveness of the police force.

Contacted by malaysiakini in Kuching this afternoon, Talib said he would leave it to PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and IGP Musa Hassan to decide on his present position.

Talib initially refused to make any comment, but when prodded said he would leave the matter to the PM and the IGP to decide.

Asked whether the MP had exaggerated the seriousness of the situation, especially in Sibu, Talib said he did not want to comment on it other than saying the people in Sibu should rebut it or otherwise.

A recent article in The Borneo Post alluded to a different set of law and order in places outside of the town, in the rural areas where syndicates and gangsters are said to be having a free hand in doing what they want, including engaging in illegal logging.

Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud recently highlighted their concerns recently about illegal logging in places like Bintulu and blaming gangsters for much of what was happening.

Bona fide timber operators are said to have become victims of such syndicates who operate with the help of some local natives, using their own trucks to pick up logs and travelling at night to try and avoid detection.

Some logging companies have complained to the authorities about the activities of secret societies and gangsters as they find themselves on the losing ends as well.